[Lawn Ranger]

Let me ask a really dumb question. If I don't rake leaves, will they kill my lawn?

I moved to northern Florida from Miami, where fallen leaves are not much of a problem. I don't know much about dealing with leaves. Here, the live oaks dropped heavy, nasty leaves for something like 4 months without stopping. I collected and burned maybe a ton of them, and I eventually decided I had done all I felt like doing. The lawn was sort of clear.

Now I have a lot of bare spots, and it sort of looks like leaves are the reason. Wherever the grass is gone, I generally see leaves.

I tried getting rid of the leaves with a lawn sweeper, a mulching kit, and an acreage rake, but I didn't do very well. Is there some piece of equipment I should have gotten?

I realize a rake will eventually get it done, but I'm not going to kill myself raking several acres by hand.

 

[Ecks from Tex]

They'll definitely kill your spirits. If accumulated in large enough piles, your grass too I suppose.

Does your lawn mower have a bag? If you've got a leaf problem that bad, a bagger mower would be the #1 thing on my list. Suck up as many as you can, then mow/mulch the rest.

I have on my wish list to buy a Billy Goat Chipper/Vacuum, but they're expensive so it's a ways away. But they are awesome at solvig your problem. I often see them for sale on Ebay on Florida, so perhaps you could get your hands on a used one nearby? I know Cub Cadet and a few others make similar machines that run anywhere from $400 - $600, but they don't seem to be as quality. Either way a bag on the mower does a decent enough job and I have over 35 trees.

 

[pennstater2005]

When your leaves fall if you either mow them or rake them up they will not be a problem. If you have a lot of trees and they fall and they sit for a long time then yes I could see them killing grass. I raked a large pile of leaves and left them for the kids to play. It killed a large patch of grass.

 

[Gregau33]

I live in the Destin area (NW FL) and I used to do landscaping as a career in a resort area. In the HOA guidelines, they made every homeowner have at least two oak trees in their front yard. Let me tell you, I worked my butt off a lot more in the winter and early spring just because of all the small oak leaves that would not stop falling off the trees...it was such a pain in the a$$.

Now, all the oak trees have grown quite a bit and are taking away the sunlight and water/nutrients from the turf. I have no idea why anyone would plant one of these things If they want a decent turf.

I would really suggest having a really good bagger mower. Save your money on the yard vac like a cub cadet or craftsman.. It's more of a pain moving those things around than what they are worth. My timemaster is pretty good at bagging. Might be worth just buying a hi vac Snapper just to get those leaves up. They aren't the best mowers, but they have by far the best vacuum type bagging system.

 

[Lawn Ranger]

Back when it was dry, I thought I didn't have to mow unless the grass was growing. Now I think I screwed myself by letting the leaves sit there.

 

[Lawn Ranger]

Maybe if I rake this crap loose, the mower will be able to suck it into the mulching blades.

 

[Gregau33]

The problem with mulching is that it won't have a high lift (blade) to really suck those leaves up. It might work to a degree, but nothing close to what a good bagging mower with a high lift blade will do for you

 

[Sam23]

I second the notion on getting a lawnmower with a bag. It is not as back breaking as a rake. It is what I use now and it works great! Yes getting those leaves up as soon as you can is best.

 

[Colonel K0rn]

If you have a backpack blower, just blow them to one area of the yard, and then rake them up. That's what I did last fall, and still do when I get pine needles or leaves on the lawn. Faster and easier than a rake.

 

[Delmarva Keith]

Another trick to try depending on the texture of the leaves is mow the lawn normally with regular high lift blades and then connect the bagger for a double cut to pick up excess chopped pieces. You'll have less to get rid of at the dump or burn pile. Not always perfect if the leaves aren't nice and crispy but beats killing yourself four months every year. You might have to leave perfection behind and just do what you can overall.

My brother mulches leaves in situ every fall with mulch blades and a plug. He has reported it takes numerous passes to get everything fine enough to sift down in the canopy. I'm not a huge fan of that approach but he says it works for him.

 

[Lawn Ranger]

What about using a harrow to get the leaves unstuck from the ground?

A blower doesn't even faze them, even at a foot away.

 

[MasterMech]

When I lived in NY, I had 1a in a forest of oak and hickory trees. Leaves were knee deep every year. I'd get a mulching setup for your mower, and mow like a crazed Bermuda lawn owner with a brand new greensmower. (Every 2-3 days for you normal folks.... :lol Frequently mulching them up into thumbnail sized pieces keeps them from killing the grass and they will break down quickly. You might need to blow/rake once during the absolute peak season but the only time I had to do leaf cleanup was early spring. I'd take my backpack blower out before mowing and blow all the leaves from the beds 10ft into the lawn before mowing. Way easier than gathering and transporting them.